Evolution of the Single Woman—and Sex—on TV

by MORE Editors

That Girl (1966-71)

No Sex The sexual revolution was in full swing, but Ann Marie, the actress played by Marlo Thomas, was a non-combatant. Though she broke ground as an independent woman trying to make it as a professional, that’s the only way she did make it: Ann and boyfriend Donald (Ted Bessell) never knocked go-go boots.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-77)

Discreet Sex Moore’s character, news producer Mary Richards, was a TV pioneer, vertically and horizontally. Over 30 and happily single, publicly on the Pill and a proponent of pay parity, Mare showed us that good girls get plenty—they just don’t talk about their sex lives over cosmos, even with BFFs like Rhoda.

Ally McBeal (1997-2002)

Neurotic Sex Some saw the miniskirted lawyer embodied (barely) by Calista Flockhart as a needy ditz. Others considered her a relatable work in progress. Pining for an old boyfriend and searching for true love, Ally worried about her erotic appeal, but she had the gumption to insist on a satisfying sex life.

Ugly Betty (2006-2010)

Sweet Geek Sex Hey, chica, America Ferrera’s Betty seemed to say, you don’t have to be supermodel skinny or conventionally chic to triumph as a fashionista or a passionista. With her feet on the ground, braces on her teeth and an office diva on her case, Betty managed a rich, satisfying sex life—and snagged the boss’s son.

Single Ladies (2011-Present)

Escapist Sex These Atlanta girlfriends are professionally successful, sexually confident, amazingly -accessorized—and still working out man troubles. But if you’re going to imagine yourself entwined in soapy, steamy plots, your TV alter ego might as well be a hip-hop vixen turned professional poker player like LisaRaye McCoy’s character, Keisha.

Girls (2012-Present)

Sad-Sack Sex For Lena Dunham’s character, Hannah, life is not about buying Manolos and dating Baryshnikov. We get it: Among 21st-century twenty-somethings, sex can involve a lot of unglamorous, downright icky boinking. But the opposite of sex object needn’t be sex abject. A preview of season two suggests a more erotically empowered Hannah.